Lost Eps Of Season 4: Return Of The Dark Captain
by crais's-lady
Summary: The adventures of the MISPLACED Captain Crais and Talyn during Season 4. In Return Of The Dark Captain, find out how they survived. Complete. Pls. R & R. Thanks.
1. Part I - Renewed Alliances

The Return of the dark Captain

(A FarScape FanFic by Beth A. Carpenter)

  


FARSCAPE and all related characters and elements are trademarks of the Jim Henson Company.

All other characters and story ideas are the creation of the author.

This is a work of fiction.  All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either product's of the author's or are used fictitiously.

TIMELINE: This story chronicles what happened to Captain Crais and Talyn beginning shortly after the episode "Crichton Kicks" and ending with the episode "What Was Lost, Part 2: Resurrection".

  


Part One - Renewed AllianceS

An odiferous mist permeated the air, sharp and stale all at the same time.  It was dark, not even the phosphorescent flora that grew within the corridors shedding a scrap of light.  Everything seemed out of sync, out of focus, wrong. Almost every circuit was blown, every wire melted, even the DRD's motionless. And the Leviathan was injured, barely alive, a huge section of his long and elegant right tail missing, crippling his ability to starburst, even if he had had enough power to perform that single defensive maneuver.

A solitary light bobbed through the Leviathan's dark corridors, a Peacekeeper-issued pulse pistol gripped in a calm and sure hand, the intruder's footsteps soft on the steelskin deck.  She had been surprised to find the Leviathan's landing doors opened, her disbelief growing into apprehension as she began to move through the pitch-black corridors of what almost seemed to be a ghost ship.  She stepped over a broken support, shining her light up onto the ceiling from where the beam fell.  It looked to have been shaken loose and she tilted her head.  A nervous gnawing began deep in the pit of her stomach.  Her mind returned yet again to the conversation so many monens ago and as she made her way to the bridge, she began to understand why the ship and his Captain had not rendezvoused with her as planned three monens ago.  

_"Tennis 9. That is the safest place to meet."  Crais whispered, leaning close to Aeryn.  "There are no bases…or outposts close to it."_

_Aeryn gazed around the recovery room in the carrier's medical bay.  Even though she knew Scorpius could not eavesdrop on them here, she still didn't trust the Peacekeepers that seemed to be milling about.  "Are you sure this will work?" she asked, never looking at her former superior._

_"Which part?" Crais raised one eyebrow quizzically.  Neither one of them had to voice the thought running through their heads.  His dark eyes bored into her.  He finally shook his head, his jaw set in determination.  "Talyn and I will provide you with…ample time to escape before the carrier implodes.  If I have not arrived at Tennis 9 in three monens, you must assume that…Talyn and I did not survive and give up the search."_

_"Crais…" Aeryn started._

_"That is an order, Officer Sun," he hissed.  Crais stood up and walked away, his eyes locking with Aeryn's one last time before he left the room._

She didn't listen to him.  Aeryn Sun stopped listening to Captain Crais when he deemed her irreversibly contaminated three cycles earlier.  And now what was she doing?   Still looking for him.  "Assuming he's even alive," she whispered to herself.

Truth be known, Aeryn was really looking for Talyn, not sure if she even cared whether Crais was dead or not.  She had found the gunship drifting in space unusually close to the area Scorpius' carrier had imploded, his bio-signature so weak that at times, Aeryn questioned whether it was even there in the first place.  He was lucky he hadn't been captured.   There had been reports of Peacekeeper patrol ships in the area searching for something, although what they were looking for was anyone's guess.    She holstered her pulse pistol and laid the handheld emergency light on the deck, easing her fingers into the seam of the bridge doors, exerting all of her strength and pushing the barrier apart.  She felt them give slightly and Aeryn stepped back as the doors sluggishly parted of their own volition.  A small, worried smile crossed her lips as she stepped onto the bridge.

"Well, done, Talyn," she softly praised, running her hand along the circular ceiling in the center of his bridge.  The air in this compartment was fresh, clean, and Aeryn tilted her head, her grey-blue eyes narrowed as she shined the light around the room.  The gunship responded weakly, a single white light to Aeryn's right pulsing dimly.  He chirped softly, sounding almost panicked.  She moved over to where the light blinked, her foot colliding with a mass lying before the console.  Aeryn shined her light down, her breath freezing in her throat as her eyes widened.  Lying before her on the steelskin deck of his own ship was ex-Peacekeeper Captain Bialar Crais, bruised, injured and unconscious.  Aeryn knelt next to him, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder as she frantically jerked open the collar of his uniform, her fingers moving immediately to his throat.  She breathed a sigh of relief at the weak pulse she felt as she studied his unconscious form.  His face was freshly cut, and Aeryn touched the scratch, her fingers coming away blood stained.  She contemplated the red fluid on her hand as it started to slowly congeal over the cut on his cheek.  _What happened here?_ she wondered silently as she began to check the Sebacean Captain for other injuries.  Crais' right ankle was bent at an odd angle and she was afraid to move him, not knowing if anything else was wrong.  Aeryn gazed around Talyn's dark bridge, the nervous feeling in her stomach growing more persistent.  Something just was not right.  She returned her eyes to Crais' face only to find a pair of dark, pain-filled eyes staring back at her.  

"Aeryn," Crais croaked, attempting to sit up.

"Lie still Crais," she commanded.  "You've been injured."

"Talyn…"

"Talyn will be fine."  She saw his eyes drift shut as he slipped back into unconsciousness and Aeryn tapped the comm badge on her vest.  "Venna, do you copy me?"

          A man's voice answered, filtering through the badge at her chest.  _"Go ahead."_

          Aeryn looked down at Crais.  She hesitantly reached out to stroke his uninjured cheek, a small smile on her face.  "I've found them.  And they are alive.  I will need a med-team stat as soon as we return to the base."

          _"What about the Leviathan?"_ Venna asked, his Prowler closing in on the injured gunship.

          "We will have to tow him in."  Aeryn ran her fingers through her hair.  "Venna, hurry," she finished, her voice filled with sudden urgent concern.

          The light was bright, even through his closed eyelids and Crais raised a shaky hand to lay over them, trying desperately to block out the light.  He was still groggy, unsure of where he was, his whole body aching.  Crais could only compare the soreness that spread from head to toe to the last time Ka D'Argo took his annoyance out on him, only this time, it was ten times worse.  There was an antiseptic smell to the room and he reached back, letting the hand that had been over his eyes slide down his neck to the transponder that linked him to his ship.  "Talyn.  Status," Crais croaked, his throat raw.  He had no idea how long he had been unconscious, how much time had passed since starburst, the gunship using all his resources to keep them alive.  He swallowed past the dryness in his mouth.

          "He can't hear you.  He's sedated."

          Crais finally opened his eyes, shutting them just as quickly at the glare before opening them more slowly, letting them focus naturally.  He knew that voice, had heard it for cycles, but for some reason couldn't place it.  She came into focus, his eyes heavy as he fought the black well that was trying to suck him in.  "Aeryn," he finally whispered.

          Aeryn leaned over him, resting her hands on the medical bed railing.  "Welcome back.  Can you remember anything that happened?" she asked, brushing an errant lock of curly black hair from his forehead.

          Crais closed his eyes, swallowing, trying to push past the pain in his own body.  He realized he was receiving residual sensations from Talyn and reached back once again for the transponder, his hand sliding down as he decided against severing his link to the gunship.  "Starburst…from the carrier.  It…was violent…almost tore Talyn in two.  I was…knocked across the bridge and…hit the console."  He paused.  "Then, nothing."

          Aeryn stared in him in confusion.  "What do you mean nothing?  Crais, you've been missing for six monens."

          Crais opened his eyes, staring at Aeryn.  "That's not…possible.  We…only starburst from the carrier…at the most…a few arns ago."

          Aeryn's eyes narrowed and she shrugged.  "Well, you're safe for now.  Get some rest.  I'm going to check on Talyn."

          Crais reached out, grabbing her wrist.  Even in his weakened condition, he was still able to hold on to her tightly.  He turned his head on the pillow, fighting the sleep that was creeping up on him.  "Where…" Crais licked dry and cracked lips.  "…where are we?" he whispered.

          Aeryn bit the inside of her cheek, wondering how much to reveal to him.  "With friends," she answered.  "Rest."  When she tried to pull away, she couldn't, his hand still firmly grasping her wrist.  Her eyes met his.  "What?" she finally asked.

          "Thank you," he replied.  Crais' hand slipped from her wrist as he slipped into a deep and healing sleep.

          Aeryn stared at him for a few more moments before turning on her heel and walking to the door.  She paused, gazing back at Crais one last time before exiting, finding Venna standing in the corridor outside, one foot propped against the wall as he cleaned his nails with the knife that never left his side.  "He's conscious."

          Venna ran a hand over his bald head, casting a concerned glance to the closed door as he replaced his knife in its case.  "What did he say?  Does he know anything?"

          Aeryn shook her head, her dark ponytail swishing over the leather of her vest.  "Nothing really."  She stopped, gazing up at him.  She had gone through her final Peacekeeper training with Venna, both of them excelling beyond the expectations of their superiors.  And he was the closest thing to a friend Aeryn ever had.  He hadn't changed since the last time she had seen him, his broad shoulders and muscular body filling his uniform as if the leather was a second skin, the sleeves of the tunic he wore cut out to accommodate his thick arms.    "Venna, we've known each other a long time, right?" she softly asked.

          Venna rolled his eyes upwards with a sigh.  "Oh here it comes."  He looked at her.  "Yes, Aeryn."

          "Then, I can trust you, right?"

          Venna sighed, crossing his arms and his ankles as he leaned against the stone wall.  "Aeryn, if I didn't trust you and you didn't trust me, I wouldn't have brought you here.  Or help you haul Crais and his ship in."  Venna scratched his cheek, a soft red shadow covering it from where he hadn't shaved.  "The resistance is still in its infancy and those members of Peacekeeper High Command that are involved are still suspicious of anyone coming into it.  So, considering the fact that I am on this useless, backwater abandoned Gammak base drumming up support for the resistance, what do you think?"  He raised his pale red eyebrows, pursing his lips as he waited for her to continue.  "Yes, Aeryn, you can trust me," Venna added.

          Aeryn leaned back against the opposite wall, her hands behind her back.  "Crais claims that he and Talyn only came out of starburst a few arns ago at the most."

          Venna stared at her before chuckling.  "Maybe I better have the doctor check his head for a concussion," he stated.

          Aeryn looked down at her boots for a moment, contemplating everything that had happened over the last cycle.  She hated to admit it, but Crais' words did sound crazy.  But maybe not that crazy.  Scorpius had modified the command carrier.  What if it had acted as a catapult, the combination of Talyn's starburst and the modifications sending the gunship forward in time?  She canted her head as she looked up at Venna.  "What if they did only come out of starburst a few arns ago?"

          A group of ex-Peacekeeper soldiers came up the corridor, laughing as they passed between Venna and Aeryn, the older man nervously rubbing his hand over his head.  "Maybe I better have the doctor check you."  He crossed the hallway, leaning one hand on the wall above Aeryn's head, staring down at her.  "Are you telling me that you think Crais and Talyn went through some sort of…" Venna scrunched his face up as he looked for the word.  "…time rift?"

          Aeryn shrugged, looking up at her longtime friend.  "It would explain the fresh cuts on Crais' face and the lack of any healed tissue on his internal injuries."  She paused.  "And the fact that the score marks on Talyn's hull are still hot, some of them only now blistering."

          Venna inhaled, his eyes locking with Aeryn's.  "They could've been recently attacked," he pointed out less than convincingly.  It wasn't the first time something like this had happened.  Venna had served on a cutter that came across a time anomaly and he remembered how the rift had aged and killed a few of his shipmates.

          Aeryn nodded.  "There is only one way to find out."

          "How?"

          She started walking down the hall.  "I need to access Talyn's records."

          Venna grabbed Aeryn's arm, gently turning her around.  "Aeryn, let it go until tomorrow.  The gunship is hurting and he is running on what little power he has left.  Let him rest."  He smiled at her, rubbing his hand up and down her arm comfortingly.  "You are all safe here.  Another day won't matter."  He raised his eyebrows.  "How about some dinner?  I understand our cook is preparing some wonderful concoction that I am sure is inedible."

          Aeryn reluctantly agreed, chuckling at Venna's words.  It wouldn't hurt to let Talyn rest, and, unbeknownst to Venna, Aeryn knew she could get on Talyn no matter how hurt he was.  For some nagging reason she couldn't quite place, Aeryn was sure Talyn and Crais hadn't been recently attacked.

          The day dawned bright and warm, not that anyone on the underground and abandoned Gammak base noticed.  Aeryn slipped through the hangar towards Talyn unnoticed, the members of this newly formed resistance going about their daily tasks in uneasy silence.  Aeryn knew something was coming, unsure whether or not to become part of it and she pushed the thought from her mind, returning her concentration to the task of finding out what had happened.  She moved around the makeshift barrier the resistance member's had erected and caught her first good look at the hybrid Leviathan she had named, her heart tightening in her chest at the score marks along his hull.  The missing tail section marred his sleek and elegant form, more beautiful to her than anything else in the Uncharted Territories.  Venna's people assured her that they could fix the damage, giving the gunship the ability to starburst again.  Aeryn hoped they could.

          She ran her hand along his red hued hull as she walked towards the lowered ramp, quietly moving up it and through his silent corridors to the bridge.  This time, the doors slid open without the slightest hesitation, causing her face to light up with a smile.  Aeryn reached up and ran her hand along the ceiling.  "Hello Talyn," she softly greeted, her voice hitching slightly.  The gunship chirped back at her, quiet, but filled with excitement.  She turned around in a circle, never moving her hand, letting it slid tenderly across his living bulkhead.  "Talyn, can you show me what happened?" she asked.

          The viewport in front of her faded to black as the gunship complied.  Aeryn watched in silent fascination.

          _"Talyn, starburst."_

_          The gunship engaged his starburst, holding his position within Scorpius' carrier until he was engulfed with red light and energy, his body warm as it closed around him, the twisting lanes of faster-than-light travel beckoning to him.  He knew where Crais wanted to go, but starburst was not an exact science._

_          "Now, Talyn!" Crais called over the thunderous roar of energy that surrounded him. _

_          Talyn let himself loose as the first support beam from the carrier came down, piercing his shields, scraping his back as he shot forward into starburst.  He felt Crais' slight twinge of panic as he was thrown backwards, but Talyn couldn't do anything but move forward, his body, already within the opened time-space window, barely feeling the jagged and searing metal of the carrier's bulkhead as he punctured through it.  He saw the ships around him through a red-haze, distorted as if he were looking at them through a pool of water.  The starburst closed around him and they disappeared._

_          When the gunship came through the space-time warp of starburst, he found himself floating in the exact same place he had just left.  There was no sign of Scorpius' entourage except for the floating debris of the destroyed command carrier that he eased himself through.  He found a relatively clean area of space less than a metra from where he arrived and stopped, exhausted and drained, the starburst pulling all the energy he had.  He turned his attention inwards to his injured and unconscious Captain and sent out the prearranged call, hoping Officer Sun was close by.  Talyn had barely started to check Crais when he heard the response, recognized the rough, feminine voice of Aeryn Sun and opened the landing bay door with the last ounce of strength he possessed._

          "Then Crais was right.  You had only just exited starburst when I found you," she whispered in shock.  Talyn chirped softly in the affirmative.  A light began to blink on the system console and Aeryn moved to it, gazing down at the information Talyn displayed for her.  "This is…incredible," she said, gazing around the ship's bridge.  "You truly are extraordinary."

          Talyn chirped in panic, displaying Crais' image on the view port.

          "He's alive Talyn, but he's hurt as well."  Aeryn moved towards the bridge doors, stopping one last time and crouching in the center of the room, laying both of her hands on the lighted deck.  "Rest, my friend," she soothed.  "You'll both be fine.  I promise."

_          "Talyn, starburst," he said quietly, knowing more than likely it would be the last command he ever issued.  There was so much he still wanted out of life, but his secret hopes and dreams were never to be realized, always out of reach, just beyond his fingertips.  But to save the rest of the universe from Scorpius ever obtaining that wormhole formula…it was worth the sacrifice he and Talyn were about to make.  He closed his eyes as the gunship burst forward, the heat intense, the brightness blinding…_

Crais sat up in the medical bed with a sharp inhalation of breath, a light sheen of sweat on his forehead.  His ribs ached and he looked down, noticing the tight binding tape around them.  He stared at his own hands in fascination, reaching back to find the transponder in its cradle at the base of his neck.  "Talyn?" he called softly, his dark eyes closed as he concentrated.

          The soft whisper in his mind made him exhale the breath he had been holding and           Crais fell backwards on the bed, his energy as depleted as the gunship he was connected to.  A small smile twitched at the corners of his mouth and grew until it became a laugh, a deep, rumbling belly laugh of the likes the Captain had not enjoyed since he had been a small child.  Tears rolled down bandaged cheeks as Crais gave into the joy he was feeling, the pain in his chest all but forgotten.

          _~ Are you all right? ~_ Talyn asked in tired confusion.  _~ What is so funny? ~_

          "I am happy we are alive, Talyn," Crais said out loud.  He sat up slower this time, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.  His ankle was also bandaged and he stared at the bindings around it, wondering how he had hurt it.

_          ~ But we are injured, Crais.  And…I'm tired. ~         _

"Yes, but we are alive, Talyn.  We are alive."  He rested his hands on the metal bar of the bed, and pulled himself upwards, standing with extremely shaky legs.  Crais turned slowly, taking one awkward step, his ankle collapsing under his weight.

Two strong arms caught him before he hit the floor in an undignified heap.  "What are you doing out of bed?"

Crais looked at the doctor that had caught him, allowing the big man to help him to his feet.  "I need to return to my ship," he stammered in shock.  The doctor easily stood head and shoulders over D'Argo, with a shock of pale blonde hair over a thin face that had seen better days.  He easily picked the Captain up and put him back in the medical bed.  Crais decided that he was not about to argue with this behemoth of a man.

"No, Captain Crais, you need to be in bed resting," the doctor stated, fixing the bed so that Crais sat up.

Crais canted his head at the man, his eyes narrowed as he stared at him.  "How do you know who I am?"

The doctor smiled.  "Officer Sun told me."  He pulled a medical scanner from the pocket of his lab jacket, checking Crais.  "I needed to make sure you were still in perfect health before I repaired the internal injuries you sustained."  He pocketed the scanner, smiling at his patient.  "I didn't want to kill the man responsible for royally frelling up Scorpius' plans."

"Where are we?"

"I already told you Crais, you're with friends," Aeryn remarked as she walked in the room.  "Although I don't think you remember.  That was four days ago."  The doctor left at her nod.  "How are you feeling?"

"Sore.  Where is Talyn?"

Aeryn propped her hands on her hips, smiling at him.  "He is safe and not too far from you."  She canted her head, gazing down at Crais as he leaned back on the pillows, wincing as he took a breath.  "You didn't expect to live, did you?" she queried softly, her light colored eyes narrowing slightly.

Crais closed his eyes.  "No," he answered with finality.  "I…we did not know what would happen.  With Talyn's modified systems and the…changes Scorpius had made to the carrier…" he shrugged slightly, resting his right hand across his bandaged ribcage.

Aeryn crossed her arms, wondering if he was telling the truth.  _This is Crais_, she thought to herself, _Crais who always looks after number one_.  "You commented to me that you and Talyn had only just starburst."

He nodded, never opening his eyes.  "I remember Talyn going into starburst, the light blinding…the heat, staggering.  The force…threw me backwards and I slammed into the console.  I recall a sharp pain slicing through my chest and head and then nothing until you found me."

Aeryn ran her fingers through her hair, unsure how she was going to tell Crais that Talyn's starburst had thrust them six monens into the future.  She and the Leviathan were having a hard enough time dealing with that realization.  She turned away, staring at the bland dark wall before her, pacing.  "Crais, when you and Talyn starburst, you were thrown six monens into the future."

Crais' eyes snapped open in disbelief and he struggled to sit upright.  "What?" he exclaimed softly in skepticism.

Aeryn whirled at the sound of his voice.  "I have no idea how or why, but Talyn showed me his logs, and what you told me is correct."  

"I must get to Talyn," Crais stated emphatically, realizing that the strange feeling he had been experiencing was Talyn's confusion and fear.  "He is still not quite recovered from the madness and I…" He tried to stand, leaning back against the bed as his ankle threatened to give out again.  Brown eyes looked up at Aeryn, who moved to stand before him.  He saw the dark look she flashed him.  

          "No." She forced Crais back into the bed.  "Trust me on this Crais.  You need to rest," she insisted, her voice strained.

          "Why do I suddenly need so much rest?" Crais snarled angrily through clenched teeth, grasping Aeryn's arm.  He studied her face, noticing the nervous twitch just below her left eye, a twitch he never noticed before.  "Aeryn, where is Crichton and the others?" he finally asked softly.  "Did Talyn and I…succeed?"

          Aeryn stared at the wall above Crais' head.  "Yes you succeeded.  Scorpius' carrier was destroyed."  She swallowed, a single tear glinting in her eye.  "And…I do not know where Crichton or anyone else is."

          Crais canted his head.  "What happened?  You were supposed to tell Crichton our plan, the two of you coming after Talyn and I together."  He pushed himself up higher in the bed, never letting Aeryn go.  "I will ask again.  What happened, Officer Sun?"

          Aeryn looked at Crais, tears streaming freely down her face, trying very hard not to let her former superior see her distress and failing miserably.  She shook her head.  "Don't ask me to tell you, Crais.  I can't."  She swallowed hard, licking her lips.  "Just be thankful I came after you."  Without another word of explanation, Aeryn turned on her heel and left the room.

          Crais watched her go, crossing his arms over his chest.  Wherever she had brought him, the medical facilities were primitive compared to most, making him rule out the possibility that they were on a commerce or pleasure planet.  Or even a Peacekeeper base.  The tape around his ribs was indicative of that.  Crais reached up and stroked his goatee, his eyes narrowing.  Aeryn was hiding something.  Where was Crichton and the crew of Moya?  Did they escape as planned, or were they killed in the carrier's implosion, unable to free themselves?  More importantly, what happened to Scorpius and why was Aeryn being so secretive? Crais was determined to find out what was going on.  

          And whether or not he and Talyn were truly among friends as Aeryn claimed.


	2. Part II - Things Lost, Things Gained

Part II - Things Lost, Things Gained

Crais' concept of time was skewed thanks to the lack of any aperture that allowed one to view the world outside.  The only people he had seen since he had arrived had been Officer Sun and the doctor, never being allowed to leave the confinement of his quarters.  How they knew when Crais tried to hobble to the door, the Captain didn't know, Aeryn or the doctor usually barging in with a cheerful expression.  He had searched for hidden camera devices, finding none behind the nondescript decorations, above the doorjambs, around the bed and the single chair and stand in the room.  His sense of unease was growing more and more intense the longer he was there.  What he did know, however, was that he was starting to get annoyed with Aeryn.  She refused to tell him anything about where they were and what had happened after they had starburst.  

And Talyn was also getting annoyed, wanting Crais back on board where he belonged.  _~ We have been here a weeken, Crais.  When are you going to come and see me? ~_

          Crais stopped his pacing, pivoting on his good foot so as not to cause any more undue stress to the ankle he had broke, his face dark and brooding as he considered the situation he found himself in.  He sighed, controlling his frustration and answering Talyn.  "As soon as I can… convince…Officer Sun into letting me out of here," he said curtly and loud enough for her to hear him if she was listening, "…I will come and see you."  

          It didn't take Aeryn long to respond.  "You can go and see Talyn now if you'd like," she remarked as she slipped in the door.  She handed Crais a change of clothing.  "I brought them from Talyn.  I will…" she hesitated, "…wait for you outside."

"You have been spying on me, Aeryn," he simply stated, snatching his clothing out of her hand.  It didn't take long for Crais to dress, limping from the room looking like his old self, his uniform crisp and clean, his hair once again pulled into its customary queue.  The only exception to his appearance was the crutch tucked under his arm, a necessary evil since he still could not bear all of his weight on his right ankle.  They turned to the left, moving slowly up the deserted corridor towards a lift that would take them to the landing bay.  A security checkpoint stood empty, no security officer manning it.  Crais turned and gazed back down the corridor, the stone walls softly lit by lights every so many denches.  He turned back to Aeryn, his eyes narrowing when he realized exactly where they were.  "Aeryn, this is a Gammak base," Crais commented softly.  "Specifically, Scorpius' old research Gammak base."  He rubbed his temple, realizing that the silence in the halls of what was once a bustling community of Peacekeepers was eerie.

          "You're right.  Now you know why I didn't want you wandering around.  I was afraid it might bring back…memories."  Aeryn reached out, sliding an iden-chip into the slot.  The doors opened and, once inside, she turned to Crais.  "I ran into some old friends that brought me here while I was searching for you," she snapped, her eyes flashing in the dim lift lights.  

          Crais leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest as he studied her, his eyes narrowed in thought.  She was hiding something, he was sure of that now.  "Who…exactly…are these 'friends'?" Crais asked, his voice lethally quiet.

          Aeryn never backed down.  "They are ex-Peacekeepers, Crais.  They are using this abandoned Gammak base to help others like us get away from the jurisdiction and long ranged reach of the High Council."

          Crais wasn't sure if he believed her.  If there was a resistance movement going on, why had they not heard about it before?  An abandoned Gammak base did make a sensible temporary headquarters for a movement such as the resistance she spoke of, assuming they didn't stay for long, but he still couldn't understand why she was being so secretive.  It was not as if he was going to go running to Peacekeeper High Command and turn them in.  He would be executed on site as soon he walked off the transport pod.  Crais approached Aeryn, closing the distance between them in the small lift until he had backed her against the far wall.  He reached out, pushing the stop button on the lift and leaned both hands on either side of Aeryn's shoulders, effectively trapping her, although he knew in his weakened condition, she could still get away.  "You…are lying," he simply accused, "…or you are not telling me everything."

          Aeryn's eyes narrowed and she laughed.  "As if you deserve to know.  As I said before Crais, be thankful I came after you."  She reached out to push him away, but he simply grabbed her wrist.  "Let go, Crais," Aeryn said tiredly.

          "Where is Crichton?"

          "Gone," she answered, jerking her hand free from his grasp.  She set the lift back into motion.

          "Where?" Crais insisted, once again stopping the lift.  Her reaction to the human's name, one of distress and avoidance, convinced Crais that something happened between Aeryn and Crichton.

          "I don't know," she finally yelled.  "He tried to persuade me to stay on Moya and when I told him I couldn't, he…he…" Aeryn turned away, fighting the pain in her heart and the tears in her eyes.  She was not going to break down in front of Crais again.  Once was enough.  Aeryn lifted her head, swallowing and taking a deep breath.  She had been trained to put her feelings aside, to not let anyone into her heart.  But that damn human!  If Crichton had not shown up three cycles earlier, her orderly little world would never have been turned upside down.  Aeryn turned to face Crais, her cheeks slightly flushed.  "He didn't understand," she finished.  "We argued and then ignored each other until I left.  That was when he finally came and tried to persuade me to stay.  I never did tell him what we had planned that day on the carrier, so Crichton and the others have no idea you're still alive."

          Crais raised one eyebrow at her confession.  "What are you planning on doing then?  Talyn has expressed his wish to reunite with his mother so that she doesn't grieve for him."

          "They think the two of you are dead, Crais.  We found…bits and pieces of Talyn and took them to the Leviathan graveyard for burial," she softly said.

          Crais nodded, his mind already set into motion.  No matter what Moya thought, she would still be grateful that her son was alive, even though the others would be less than enthused that he himself was still among the living.  He stroked his goatee in thought, ignoring the slight twinge in his ribs as he shifted.  "Fortuitous for us, then, isn't it, Officer Sun?" he posed, waiting to gauge her reaction.  

          "How do you mean?" she asked suspiciously, canting her head.  She knew the calculating look that had suddenly crossed Crais' face.  "No.  I'm not joining you, if that is what you are thinking."  She paced the small box of a lift, shaking her head, rubbing her arms nervously.  "We've been over that ground before and I'm staying here."

          "But Talyn and I could…use your help until we are fully recovered," Crais softly commented.  "The Peacekeepers also think I am dead.  Think of the places we could see."

          Aeryn looked up at him.  "Crichton is right.  You will never change."  She reached over for the release button.

          Crais suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled Aeryn against him, his lips meeting hers in a kiss, tasting her as his tongue delved into her mouth, dueling with hers.  She was a forbidden fruit to him and he savored her sweet and spicy flavor.  He surprised both of them with his action, unsure as to why he chose that particular moment to kiss her, and he stepped back away from her, slapping the lift release in annoyance, staring at her in defiance in an attempt to hide his own embarrassment, realizing that the only thing he had managed to do was alienate himself from Aeryn even more.

          Aeryn's chest rose and fell in heavy, angry breaths.  "I hope you enjoyed that, Crais," she finally spat, the lift doors opening.  "Because that's the one and only chance you'll ever get."  She stormed off the lift, her dark hair swinging violently behind her as she walked away.

          Crais watched her go, rubbing his lips with his fingers.  He slowly moved from the lift, his brown eyes watching her as she turned the corner. Unfortunately, Aeryn was wrong in her assumption that he enjoyed the kiss.  He found that nothing sparked within him, no burning ember, no flaming passion, nothing, as if he had just kissed his own mother.  All this time he had wanted Aeryn only to find that there was nothing there, that there would never be anything between them, as he had once hoped, except for a precarious friendship.  And it was a very sobering thought, leaving the Captain wondering if somewhere within the vastness of the galaxy, or even the universe, there was someone that would light that spark.  Someone that would accept him as he was as Crichton had accepted Aeryn.

          Talyn's enthusiasm at having Crais on board almost overpowered the ex-Peacekeeper.  He had taken his time inspecting the outer hull of the gunship, walking slowly around him as he gazed at the healing burns. His eyes were consistently drawn to the newly repaired tail, the metal still shiny in the hangar's lights.  Aeryn assured him that eventually, within a cycle or two, Talyn's living tissue would grow over it, absorbing it into his superstructure.  Crais grunted to himself.  These refugees, these ex-Peacekeepers, couldn't heal his ribs or knit the bones of his ankle back together, but, by Cholak, they could repair Talyn.  His eyes narrowed as he limped up the ramp into his ship.

          _~ Well, how does it look? ~_ Talyn asked confidently.  He was feeling more like himself, his inquisitive nature starting to return.

          Crais smiled.  "It looks fine, Talyn.  You have the distinct advantage of being unique, allowing us the…opportunity to help you."  He noticed the DRD's skittering about, performing their routine maintenance as well as repairing the damage that had been done during the starburst.  He made his way onto the bridge, immediately checking the gunship's power levels.  Talyn had regained almost all of his energy and soon they would be able to leave.  If they were allowed.

_          ~ Crais? ~_

          Crais looked up at Talyn's soft call.  He could feel the Leviathan's apprehension.  "Yes Talyn?" he asked gently, not wanting to worry the gunship.

_          ~ Why did you kiss Aeryn? ~_

          The question was almost a whisper in the Captain's mind and he sighed.  He leaned against the console, closing his eyes.  "I…don't know Talyn."  He rubbed his temple, trying to figure out how he could explain to Talyn about the sudden, and sometimes, insane impulses that many Sebaceans, and obviously humans, suffered from.  He looked up, his dark eyes softening as he moved to the center of the bridge, stroking Talyn's bulkhead.  "I have always…wanted Officer Sun for my own.  It has been a subject we have discussed in length.  You of all…beings know that."  He chuckled wryly for a moment, thinking back to the creative vid-chip the other Crichton had found.  "Maybe a little too well."

          Talyn though about Crais' words.  _~ Then, she does not want you? ~_

          Crais shook his head.  "No Talyn.  She does not."  He took a deep breath, easing himself down to his knees, checking to make sure the crutch was nearby.  "Talyn, Officer Sun is very much in…love with Crichton, although I…suspect she does not want to admit it."

          _~ Why? ~_

          Crais flexed his fingers, studying them where they lay on his leather-encased thighs.  "As Peacekeepers, Officer Sun and I were trained that to fall in love or to show compassion was weak.  It is very hard to break that training, Talyn."

          _~ But what about these other women you had feelings for? ~_  Talyn was confused, but slowly sorting it out.  His experiences with Stark when they were joined showed the gunship what it meant to be in love, the Bannik slaves emotions over Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan still strong.  And then when Aeryn showed him what it meant to be needed… _~ Is it because it is the other Crichton, the one that lived and stayed with the others and my mother, and not the one she spent time with here, with us? ~_  he finally asked, forgetting his earlier question.

          But Crais had not forgotten.  He thought back to the women in question and it dawned on him that he never truly loved any of them.  They were all a means to an end at that point in his life.  He shook his head sadly, wondering if it would have been better if they had died.  What did the Uncharted Territories truly hold for them now?  He had no reason to chase Crichton and even though he stood beside the human in support of his crazy scheme to blow Scorpius sky high, the human would never trust him as an ally.  He could never return to his home planet and pick up the pieces of his life there, not after all the time he had been away and the certainty that his Father would never forgive him for Tauvo's death.  And returning to the Peacekeeper's was not an option.

          _~ You have me, ~_ Talyn reminded gently, listening in on Crais' thoughts.

          Crais smiled softly.  "Yes, Talyn, I have you."  He sighed, never answering Talyn's question about Aeryn and Crichton because he wasn't sure himself.  He pulled himself to his feet and turned, limping over to the system's console.  "Now, let me see if we continue repairing some of this…other damage," he stated quietly.

The other damage turned out to be something Crais could handle.  How Lt. Lorell ever discovered the virus circulating through Talyn's systems, Crais would never know.  What he couldn't understand was why the illness had not affected him.  Crais knew how Talyn was infected though and he was thankful Stark was nowhere near them.  He would have killed the Bannik slave with his own bare hands.

Talyn's madness, his periods of intense anger that mad him destroy the hospital ship, had been caused by a virus he picked up from Stark.  When Stark joined with Talyn in the residual pilot's chamber and saved them from the siren star, he left Talyn with a virus, one that was slowly driving the young Leviathan mad.  That was all Crais needed.  The thing that turned the Bannik into a frelnik was infecting his ship and Crais hoped that the effects were short lived once the virus was completely purged from his system.  The removal of Talyn's automatic firing mechanism did absolutely nothing to help the ship.  But Crais' decision to shut down all but his autonomic functions had.  If the Captain had realized what had happened, he would've been able to help Talyn sooner.  He checked the stores of anti-toxin Lorell had hidden all over the ship instructing the DRD's to administer a dose, knowing Talyn was long overdue.  Lorell had tried to help, keeping this information from Scorpius even though she stabbed Crais in the back with everything else, leaking their plans to the scientist, forcing Crais to steal the gunship for a second time.  He pushed the thought of Lorell from his mind, still bristling from her betrayal.

_~ Crais? ~_

Crais gazed up, staring at the living bulkhead before him.  "Yes Talyn."

_~ Are you going to repair the automatic firing mechanism? ~_ he asked softly.

"Possibly, Talyn.  It will…depend on you."  Crais turned and began to pace the bridge, his hands clasped behind his back as he limped back and forth.  "If we…work together and you…obey my commands, I will consider it."  Crais knew if he replaced the firing mechanism, he would be giving Talyn the ability to inflict pain on him again, forcing Crais to endure the effects of cybernetic bleed back.  It was a decision he would have to consider very carefully.

Talyn remained silent, debating Crais' words.  He watched the Captain pace his bridge, observed the Sebaceans around him packing up the equipment in the hangar.  He didn't disturb Crais' thoughts, just watched, suspecting that the people on this abandoned Gammak base were preparing to leave it exactly the way they found it, deserted and abandoned.  And leave it very soon.

          Aeryn found Crais deep within one of Talyn's central chambers, surrounded by a plethora of wires.  A DRD scooted past her foot, beeping irritably at her as it headed towards the Captain.  She folded her arms and watched, leaning against the bulkhead as Crais silently communicated with his ship, inserting one wire and then another in a preset sequence.  She waited for him to acknowledge her, knowing that he was already aware of her presence aboard the gunship.

          "Officer Sun," he greeted sharply, reaching down for a control chip.  He slipped back into the large node, visible only from his waist down as he worked.

          It had been three solar days since she marched away from him in anger.  Aeryn had had time to think about what had passed between them.  In retrospect, she couldn't blame Crais for trying, knowing that had things transpired differently that day three cycles earlier, she might have been handsomely rewarded for Crichton's capture, assuming she has capitulated to Crais' demands.  She realized that maybe she hadn't been fair to her former superior, wondering if that was why she still stuck up for him, one of the only people who did.  Aeryn had no idea what it must have been like growing up with a family and siblings.  But she did finally understand what it was like to lose someone you loved.  "Crais, have you ever wondered what your life would've been like if you hadn't been conscripted?" she asked quietly.

          Crais turned his head and looked at her, peering over his shoulder sideways with dark eyes.  He freed himself from the node, dusting his hands off as he approached her.  "Why would you ask?" he remarked, his voice tinged with annoyance.  He took a deep draught of water from the container he had hung off the bulkhead, watching her carefully.  Had she changed her mind about traveling with them?

          She shifted her position, staring past Crais.  "What you did the other day…"

          "I kissed you," he bluntly stated.

          Aeryn nodded.  "If things had been different, maybe, in time…" She shook her head.  "Now…" Aeryn shrugged.  "I sometimes wonder what it would be like to find a planet and settle down.  Would I be bored?  Would I enjoy it?  Children?"  She stared at him and sighed.  "I don't think that life was ever meant for either of us."

          Crais tilted his head.  "Aeryn, I am sure you did not come here to…ponder what our lives could have been."

          "No."  She licked her lips.  "I came here to tell you that I am flying out with a Prowler group in an arn.  We are serving as an escort to a frigate that has defected.  And I am not planning on returning with them."  She turned and started to walk away, stopping at Crais' gentle touch on her arm.

          Crais looked down at her.  "Aeryn, I am…sorry for my actions.  I know now that I never truly wanted you in that way."  He smiled softly, his eyes full of regret.  "I think I wanted you more as a companion and a friend because you know how I think.  You know what I wanted."  He cupped her cheek in his hand.  "The Crichton on Moya?"  Crais shook his head.  "He is the same man you fell in love with here on Talyn.  And you were happy.  I see that now."

          "No, Crais.  He's different," Aeryn whispered.

          "Why?  Because he does not hold those particular memories?"  He leaned forward slightly, taking her face in both of his hands, his eyes fervent in the light of the chamber.  "Aeryn, you have an opportunity most of us do not get.  You have the opportunity to be happy and to give all of yourself to another.  You have shown Talyn and I both that there can be more to our life.  Don't throw that chance away, Aeryn."  He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and stepped back, turning away to continue his work on the node.  "Good health to you Officer Aeryn Sun."

          Aeryn licked her lips, contemplating his words before she turned away.  She stopped, one hand on Talyn's bulkhead, one on the doorframe.  "Good health to you as well, Captain Bialar Crais."

          Crais froze momentarily as he listened to her footsteps on Talyn's steelskin deck fade.  With a curt nod, he returned to his work.  He would give her two days.  If she did not return, Crais and Talyn would leave the base without her and set off to find Moya by themselves.

          Talyn burst from the confines of the hidden Gammak base with fervor, causing Crais to chuckle to himself.  The gunship rolled, knowing that his Captain would never feel the gravitational flux caused by his playfulness.  He couldn't help himself.  He was alive, he was free and he was happy.

          Crais allowed the Leviathan his moments of glee, removing the transponder as he walked into his quarters, laying down on his own bed and closing his eyes.  He still hurt all over, but the doctor assured him that his recovery was almost complete, cautioning him not to overdo it.  That had been three days ago when the members of this hidden refugee help group left.  Crais still wondered if that was what they were doing, if they were really helping ex-Peacekeepers like him start a new life far away from the regime that had turned their backs on them.  He let the thought drift from his mind as he slipped into sleep.

          Only to be brought out of the doze he had fallen into by Talyn's intruder alert klaxon.  Crais grabbed the transponder from the side of the bed, sliding it into its home at the base of his neck.  "Talyn!  Report!" he yelled.

_          ~ I've picked up a Prowler.  A single ship, damaged. ~_

          "Life signs?" Crais asked, making his way to the bridge.  

_          ~ One. ~  _He paused_.  ~ Crais, it's Officer Sun. ~_

          "Release the docking web," he replied calmly, making his way to the landing bay.  The Prowler settled to the deck with a hiss of maneuvering jets, its side scored and pocked, one engine leaking coolant.  The canopy popped open with a hiss of air.  Crais stood there in perfect military form, chin high in arrogance, hands at his side, his right one propped on the butt of his pulse pistol as a precaution.  His eyebrows rose as he gazed at Aeryn as she removed her helmet and he waited, curious as to why she had returned to the deserted base.

          She was pale, a light sheen of sweat on her forehead, dark circles under her eyes.  But the resigned expression on her face was what made Crais tilt his head.  "You know, I've been thinking about what you have said, Crais."

          "About what?" He noticed that her voice was lighter, the strain gone from it as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.  

          Aeryn landed on the steelskin deck and tossed her flight gloves and helmet back into the cockpit.  She had flown straight back to the base, hoping that Talyn and Crais had stayed on the chance she would show up.  She was hungry, tired and filthy, but determined.  Determined to take Crais' advice, whether or not it was the right thing to do.  If she didn't, she would never know what life with the strange human could've been like, regretting her decision for the rest of her existence.  "About not giving up the opportunity I have been given."  She pursed her lips.  "Are you still going after Moya?  Does your offer still stand?"

          Crais smiled slightly.  "Yes, it does."

          Blue-grey eyes met brown in understanding.  "Good.  Because you're right.  I do love Crichton and he does deserve that chance."

          Crais nodded, motioning for her to precede him from the landing bay.  "Talyn, begin a wide band search for Moya," he commanded as he headed for the bridge.


	3. Part III - Friends and Enemies

Part III - FriendS And EnemieS 

Aeryn pushed through the low foliage, swatting at the flies that seemed to enjoy annoying her by buzzing around her head as she and Crais traversed a well worn path towards the source of the Leviathan signal Talyn had picked up.  She glanced at her former Captain, still moving with a slight limp, up ahead of her, the tracker held out before him in his left hand.  "Well?"  The planet Arnessk was warm and she wiped the sweat from her forehead, gazing around the forest they were traveling through.  Sunlight peaked through the leaves of the trees above her, casting dancing rays wherever they could.  She removed the plug from her canteen, taking a quick drink of water and offering it to Crais.

          Crais pointed with his other hand as he studied the tracker before him.  "Over there.  Talyn is picking up life forms.  A small settlement."  He took a drink from the offered canteen, handing it back to Aeryn and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he looked around.  Birds and animals moved through the trees and he could hear the sound of water hitting rocks not far from them.  It was a paradise.  A paradise that could turn very dangerous very quickly.  He continued down the path, slipping the tracker onto his belt and removing his pulse pistol from its holster.  He was uneasy and it didn't help that the Peacekeeper signal Talyn had discovered had only disappeared a few arns earlier.  Considering they could not verify that the Peacekeepers were gone, Crais was playing it safe.  He held up his hand, stopping Aeryn, motioning for her to move to the right as the path split.   Their eyes met.  She had heard the voices as well.

          Aeryn nodded, drawing her own weapon as she moved along the other path, her eyes searching the forest around them, keeping Crais within the corner of her vision at all times, the way she knew he was watching her.  It scared her that she could still slip into her training so easily.  She wondered if that fact bothered Crais as well, or did he simply wrap what he knew around him like a protective cloak.  It had taken them almost a monen to find this planet, Aeryn remembering Jool mentioning it off-handedly to Chiana as they walked past her while she was loading her Prowler.  She had never thought anymore of it until Talyn found a signal.  A Leviathan signal that faded and disappeared faster than he could get to it.    The young Leviathan pushed himself as fast as he could to reach Arnessk, fear that the signal was from Moya and she was in danger.  The thought was a sobering one and Crais had let the gunship speed to Arnessk at will, knowing that the signal could have been another Leviathan. She looked over at the other path and swore silently to herself.  Aeryn had let her mind wander and had lost sight of Crais, only to find him by the piercing scream that ripped through the air.  A piercing scream she had heard one too many times not to recognize.  "Frell!" Aeryn took off at a run, shoving branches away from her face, hoping she could reach Crais before Jool could attack him in panic.

          Crais slipped towards the voices, losing sight of Aeryn in the brush as the path he was following dipped down, opening into a large clearing, the remnants of a rock wall circling half of the area.  He saw the red hair before anything else, recognized the haughtiness in the woman's voice and holstered his pulse pistol, a soft smile of recognition quirking the corner of his mouth. What was Jool doing here and were the others here as well?  A slight twinge of anticipation rolled through him.  Although his relationship with Crichton was shaky, Crais actually wanted to see the human, if only to observe the look of shock on his face when he realized Crais and Talyn survived.  He gazed over at the man that knelt next to Jool, curious as to his identity as he took in the loose red robes that swirled at his ankles.  The man was quietly explaining to her the use of an artifact in his hand.  "Greetings, Joolushko," he softly commented.

Jool froze at the voice behind her, slowly turning, her eyes meeting a pair of Peacekeeper issued boots.  She followed the leather encased legs up and her hair began to turn a brilliant shade of red as she let out scream, high pitched and deafening, falling backwards into the man beside her.

Crais took a step backwards, covering his ears and wincing at the sound.  He had forgotten how painful one of her shrieks could be and decided that approaching the young woman from the rear was not the wisest decision he had ever made.  Crais lowered his hands as Jool ran out of air, her scream cutting short, taking a deep breath in relief.  He saw Aeryn come from the opposite direction and when Jool saw her former shipmate, she screamed again.

   "Crais, what the frell did you do to her?" Aeryn yelled, approaching the young Interion woman.  Aeryn cringed at the wail, watching as Jool skittered backwards in the dirt away from the two ex-Peacekeepers in disbelief.

   "Nothing!  All I did was announce my presence," he snapped.  "Why must you always assume I did something…wrong?"  He looked at the now melted tracker at his hip, struggling to free it from his belt.  With a sigh of annoyance, he tossed it into the brush.

   Aeryn holstered her pulse pistol, propping her hands on her hips, her tongue tucked into the corner of her cheek.  "It's your nature, Crais," she retorted.  

   "You're…you're…" Jool stammered in astonishment.

   Both Sebaceans turned and looked at the redhead.  "Alive?" Crais supplied, canting his head, gazing down at her with raised eyebrows.  He offered her his hand, helping Jool to her feet.

   Without warning, Jool launched herself onto Crais, laughing in delight as she hugged him.  "You and Talyn made it!  You actually did it!  You survived!"  No matter how much she blamed Crais for Talyn destroying the hospital ship, she still recognized the fact that his and Talyn's maneuver saved the rest of them, even if her former shipmates couldn't.

   Crais carefully extricated himself from Jool, setting her back on her feet in front of him, his face blushing slightly at her unusual display.  He tugged his uniform jacket back into place as Jool hugged Aeryn, thankful no one noticed his embarrassment other than Talyn.  "Yes, although I am sure there are some others that will be less than…happy with that prospect."  He tilted his chin.  "Is Crichton and the others here?"

   Jool noticed the strained look on Aeryn's face and gazed back at Crais.  She quickly nodded to her companion and he stood up, moving up the path towards the settlement.  "No.  They left here a weeken ago," she answered softly.

   "Frell," Aeryn whispered running her fingers through her dark hair.

   "What the hezmona is going on?  I thought you were going to look for that group of ex-Peacekeepers.  You know, that assassin group?" Jool remarked in confusion.  Her eyes widened suddenly and she stared at Crais accusingly, turning back to Aeryn.  "Why are you with Crais?"

   Crais moved forward, gently taking Jool's arm.  "It is a long story.  Is it safe here?"  Jool nodded, her red hair bobbing in the fading light of Arnessk's twilight.  "Then…let us go someplace where we can talk privately."

   The Interion agreed and led the way, glancing back at the two ex-Peacekeepers and wondering why Aeryn had such a long face.

   And how Crais and Talyn survived.

   Night on Arnessk was cool and Crais and Aeryn were thankful for the brisk breeze blowing through the makeshift shelter.  The fabric above them flapped softly, the fire they sat around popping every so often, releasing a fragrant aroma from the local wood.  Jool peered at Crais in surprise at the story he had just finished relaying, amazed that he and Talyn had lost six monens of their lives in the course of an arn.  And Talyn's virus…Jool was surprised that neither she nor Crais had thought of something like that considering the biology and genetic backgrounds they both possessed.  She could no longer hold Crais responsible for Talyn's attack on the hospital ship. Jool gazed at Aeryn, getting the distinct impression they were leaving something out by the look of sadness on the ex-Peacekeeper's face.  She had so many questions to ask that she didn't know where to start, staying quiet and watching as Crais stoked the fire from where he sat across from her.  Remnants of their evening meal lay at their sides and the group Jool was with silently slipped among them, gathering the plates and glasses without a word.  

   "Who are these people?" the Sebacean woman finally asked, motioning with her hand to the red robed men and women walking around.

   Jool gazed behind her with an almost maternal pride, a look of satisfaction on her face.  "They're the priests that live here."  She peered at Crais and Aeryn, her eyes soft, her lips turned up in a comfortable smile.  "My people had an archaeological dig here, although at the time, I was unsure of what they were looking for."

   "Which was?" Crais prodded.  He had removed the queue from his hair, enjoying the feel of the breeze as it rustled it against the back of his neck.  His trips planet side over the course of the last few cycles had been infrequent, and he had forgotten what it was like to breath fresh air.  He planted his feet firmly, leaning forward on the huge log he sat on, resting his elbows on his knees as he gazed at Jool, waiting for her answer, the stick he was using to stoke the fire dangling from his long fingers.

   "The Darnaz Probes," Jool supplied.

   Aeryn looked at her in confusion.  "What are they?"

   Jool smiled, settling back against a large stone as she began her tale.  "Over 12,000 cycles ago, Arnessk was a beautiful planet, filled with wildlife and flora that would have amazed you.  The priests built a temple here that was supposed to ensure peace between the Peacekeepers and the Scarrens."

   "It didn't work, obviously," Crais pointed out, stretching his long legs out before him as he began to relax, crossing them at the ankles and leaning back on one arm.  If anything happened, Talyn would let him know.

   Jool shook her head.  "No, it didn't.  The probes were launched into the atmosphere and caused what was known as the Darnaz Triangle.  It destroyed the beauty of this world by causing the planet's magnetic field to become unstable.  Only certain times through the cycle the magnetics realigned, which allowed one to come here safely."

   "What happened during the unsafe times?" Aeryn questioned.  She sat rigid on the stone that held the shelter's pole, her body tense and ready to spring, her hands splayed on her thighs.  She wanted to find Crichton and tried very hard not to let her disappointment in missing them show.

   Jool shrugged.  "You basically melted to death from the radiation."  She shook her head.  "Anyway, when the probes were launched, it somehow set up a barrier in time, freezing the priests where they stood.  When Crichton and the others showed up, Noranti showed Crichton the Darnaz Probes, convincing him that we had to find them before the members of my people's team did."

   "Who is Noranti?" Crais asked, looking to Aeryn for explanation, his eyes narrowing slightly as he canted his head in her direction.

   "One of the survivors Moya picked up when the command carrier imploded.  She's a strange little woman with three eyes and a knack of blowing mind altering herbs into Crichton's face," Aeryn answered in irritation.  Crais licked his lips, trying to suppress the smile that was threatening to cross his face and she looked at Jool.  "Why was it so important to find the probes?"

   Jool looked down at her hands.  "If any one person or group possess the probes, they could destroy and enslave other worlds."  She smiled sadly, gazing between Aeryn and Crais into the darkness beyond their fire.  "It's funny how what demolished this world is what eventually saved it."  She looked up at her companions.  "Crichton found the probes and we realigned them based on what Noranti showed him, restoring Arnessk's magnetic field.  When we did, the priests were freed from their entrapment.  I stayed behind to help teach them what has happened," she answered contentedly.

   "Talyn found a Leviathan's signal, which led us here.  Is it gone?  Was it Moya?" Aeryn asked hopefully.

   The Interion shook her head.  "No.  An old Leviathan saved Crichton after you left and brought him here.  Unfortunately, it died helping us."

   Crais stroked his goatee in thought.  "Jool, Talyn picked up an errant Peacekeeper signal in this sector."  His eyes met hers as he sat back up.  "Is that what the Leviathan was helping you with?"

   Jool didn't answer the ex-Peacekeeper right away.  She listened to the sound of the surf hitting the rocks in the distance, trying to determine the best way to tell them what had happened.  "Yes.  The Peacekeepers were here," she quietly stated.

   Aeryn stood up, her pulse pistol in hand.  "When?  How many?  Are they still here on the planet?"  She turned slowly, trying to see into the darkness.  She couldn't determine why she was so jumpy, an uneasy feeling of urgency settling over her.  She wanted to leave the planet, continue her search for Crichton and the others.

   Crais reached up and laid a gentle hand on her wrist.  He was not happy that Peacekeepers had been there, but he was certain they were gone, even though a deep foreboding was slowly seeping into his gut.  "Aeryn, if they were still here, Talyn would have notified us."  He nodded at Jool.  "Please, continue."

   Jool waited until Aeryn sat, watching as the other woman laid the pulse pistol at her side.  She looked Crais straight in the eye.  "Commandant Grayza was here, with Braca and…"

   Aeryn looked at her, thrusting her hands out towards Jool in encouragement as she shook her head.  "And?" she prodded sharply.

   "Scorpius."

   Crais' head snapped up from where he had been studying the fire at Jool's quietly hissed word.  "Scorpius was here?  With Grayza?" he hissed vehemently, his dark eyes narrowing in the dim light.

   Jool nodded.  "Yes, but Scorpius wasn't himself.  It seems Grayza had managed to…"

   "Out with it, Jool!" Aeryn snapped loudly.

   Jool cast her an icy glare.  "This isn't easy!  We were all almost killed," she whined in defense.  "Grayza had enslaved Scorpius, she did something to his thermal unit and he was…drooling like a brindz hound on a chain that Braca was holding."

   Her statement made Crais laugh, a deep, rich sound that made both women's eyebrows shoot upwards.  His whole body shook as he laughed and it took him a few minutes to settle down, wiping the tears from his eyes as he snickered.  "I would have given…anything to have seen that," Crais finally managed to choke.  "Scorpius…on a leash."

   Jool shook her head.  "Actually, it was pretty sad."  She stared at Crais, unused to the stoic Captain's laughter.  "I don't like him any more than you do, but if you had seen him…and Braca."  Jool shook her head, her red hair brushing her bare shoulders.  "Braca is under Grayza's control and I think he was enjoying Scorpius' humiliation."

   Crais' expression immediately hardened.  "Let us not discuss humiliation," he growled.  He stood up and began to pace, finding it the only relief to his annoyance.  "Scorpius deserves everything he gets at Grayza's hands."

   "Grayza gave Crichton the chance to kill him, but John refused, so Grayza had Braca shoot him, point blank," Jool continued, looking at Aeryn. She saw Crais stop pacing, staring at her in quiet disbelief.

"Braca shot Scorpius?" he repeated quietly, his voice barely audible over the waves crashing behind them.

Jool nodded.  "In the back.  He's buried here on the planet."

   Crais' eyes grew wide and he glanced at Aeryn.  Neither one of them could believe that Braca would have the nimvoks to shoot the scientist in the first place let alone in the back.  Crais was positive his former second-in-command was completely under Grayza's control.  "Scorpius is…dead?" he hissed, his eyes narrowed and boring into Jool.

   "Yes."

   "Prove it," Aeryn responded.  "I want to see where he is buried."

   Jool looked back and forth between the two ex-Peacekeepers and shivered at the thought of going back to the site where they had all almost lost their lives.  "I will show you in the morning."

          Crais and Aeryn stared at the nondescript dirt mound before them, a fitting burial site for Scorpius in Crais' opinion.  The sky above them was dark, matching Crais' mood, a fierce wind whipping the trees above them.  He turned dark eyes to Jool.  "Are you…positive he is dead?"

          Jool propped her hands on her hips, her head tilted at a conceited angle as her hair darkened slightly.  "He took a pulse pistol blast to his back at close range.  How could he have survived without food and water and in the ground this long, let alone his wounds?  Of course he's dead!"

          Crais crossed his arms, watching Jool's hair grow redder with her annoyance.  "Scorpius has…survived much worse than being buried alive."

          "Oh, so you're saying he's still alive after being in the ground for an entire weeken?"  Jool threw her hands up in resignation, turning away.  "Well, then, dig him up if you don't believe me."

          Aeryn saw the look of contemplation cross Crais' face and walked over to him.  "You are not seriously thinking of actually digging him up, are you?" she whispered, her back to Jool.  She gazed up at him questioningly.

          Crais stared at the mound of dirt, his jaw clenched, his mind rehashing the hezmona the half-breed scientist had forced him to suffer.  His eyes met Aeryn's, dark and cold.  "Do you have a better method of proving that he will no longer hound us across the Uncharted Territories?"

          "Crais, this is insane," Aeryn answered.  She followed his eyes to the grave.

          Crais leaned forward, his breath warm on the back of her neck.  "Wouldn't you prefer to be reunited with…Crichton knowing that the only person you have to worry about is Commandant Mele-On Grayza?" he whispered.  He didn't reveal to Aeryn what Jool had confided to him the night before after the ex-Peacekeeper had fallen asleep.  The time he had spent with Aeryn on Talyn had been enough for him to determine that she was still not admitting something to him, and her wane appearance was no reassurance.  The fact that Grayza and Crichton had possibly 'recreated' was a piece of information he would let Crichton deliver to Aeryn.

          Aeryn knew Crais had a valid point.  There truly was only one way to verify Jool's story.  She looked at her former shipmate.  "Do you have shovels or do we need to return to Talyn for supplies?" she simply asked.

          Jool's eyes widened.  "You're both fahrbot, you know that?  I can't believe you want to dig him up."

          "Jool, just answer Officer Sun," Crais demanded, walking away from Aeryn to pace around the grave.  A rumble of thunder sounded overhead.

          Jool sighed in disgust.  "Yes we have shovels.  I'll be right back."  She took off down the path, mumbling to herself about how she always got into these messes and how her newly found, perfect little world was going to hezmana in a hand basket.

          Aeryn walked around the grave, chewing her thumbnail, a habit she had picked up from Crichton.  "What do you know about Grayza?" she asked, peering up at Crais.

          The Captain had settled himself on a worn tree stump, shrugging off his uniform jacket.  "Only what I picked up from conversations on the command carrier.  She is ruthless and the mastermind behind the alliance with the Scarrens."

          "Wonderful," Aeryn remarked sarcastically.  "What does she have against Scorpius?" she wondered aloud.

          Crais shook his head.  "I suspect his failure in capturing Crichton and moving forward with the wormhole project."  He rested his hands on his knees.  "Aeryn," he started uneasily, debating whether or not to tell Aeryn the other thing he heard about Grayza.  He decided it would be better for her to be forewarned and licked his lips.  "Grayza carries a heppel gland."

          "A heppel gland?  I thought only…" She paused and then sighed.  "No wonder Braca is under her control."  Her face showed her disgust in Crais' admission.  "Well, now we know that the Commandant will do anything to rise through the ranks," she spat, emphasizing the word 'Commandant'.

          Crais nodded, his lips pursed.  He stood up as Jool returned, taking the shovel from the red-haired woman.  "Now…let's see if he is truly dead."  With a forceful thrust, Crais drove the shovel into the dirt.  It didn't take long to uncover the scientist's body and Crais leaned on the shovel, a light sheen of sweat covering his bare arms and face.  

          "Satisfied?" Jool asked, tilting her head smugly.

          Aeryn knelt down, brushing dirt away from the side of Scorpius' neck and laying her fingers on it.  When she didn't feel anything, she leaned her head over his black and dirt stained lips.  

          One black-gloved hand shot upwards and grabbed Aeryn around the neck in a tight grasp.  "Help…me," Scorpius hissed.

          Aeryn clasped Scorpius' wrist, gasping as she tried to break free from Scorpius' grasp.  She stared down at him, his face more emaciated than usual as her eyes widened trying to catch a breath as she struggled to free herself.  

Crais sprang into action, his pulse pistol quickly finding it's way to the side of the half-Scarren's head.  He looked at Jool, his eyebrows raised in an  'I-told-you-so' gaze before returning his attention to Scorpius.  "Let her go, or I will shoot you," he calmly remarked, his finger depressing the trigger slightly.  Scorpius' hand loosened at the sound of Crais' voice and he turned cold eyes towards the ex-Peacekeeper. 

Aeryn fell backwards, rubbing her neck as she stared in stunned shock to him.  The uneasiness she had been feeling was suddenly gone and she shot daggers at Crais, her blue-grey eyes icy.  Slowly, Scorpius sat up, favoring his right side as he gazed at the two ex-Peacekeepers and Jool.  "Shoot him!" Aeryn yelled, pointing at Scorpius.

          Dark eyes turned towards her and the scientist leered at her.  "Officer Sun," he whispered, spitting dirt and debris from his mouth.  "I would greatly appreciate it if you would not encourage Captain Crais in that course of action.  I have had enough of…being shot."

          Crais rested the muzzle of the pulse pistol against Scorpius' head.  He noticed the congealed blood and score mark on his back, finding the slightest bit of sadistic pleasure at the sight.  "You have exactly sixty microts to tell us what happened."

          Scorpius looked up at Crais and laughed.  "I managed to upset the wrong people.  You have done that a few times yourself.  I was not very pleased with your little maneuver and am surprised that you survived," he commented sarcastically, his usually cultured voice filled with Scarren menace as he wiped the dirt from his face, only managing to smear it even more.

          "Damn you Crais!" Aeryn snarled, pulling her own pulse pistol from its holster.  She drew down on Scorpius.

          Crais lunged towards Aeryn, grabbing her wrist and pushing her hand aside as she fired, the shot going wide and missing her target, bark flying from the tree the blast connected with.  "No Aeryn!"

"What?" Aeryn looked up at Crais in confusion.  "Why?" she yelled, pushing Crais away, holding the weapon level with her former superior's chest.  "Give me one good frelling reason why I shouldn't kill him?"

          Scorpius stood up slowly, cradling his arm in his hand, fascinated with the scene before him.  This was the second time someone had tried to kill him since he ran into Grayza.  It was a good thing Braca was a lousy shot.  He waited patiently, noticing that Jool backed away from all three of them, surrounded by the Arnesskan priests who came running at the pulse pistol's blast.

          Crais looked at Aeryn, laying his hand on her weapon and pushing her arm down.  The tears in her eyes didn't go unnoticed and he took a step towards her.  "Why?  I can't give you a reason why other than the fact that he is now shunned by the Peacekeepers as we are.  His command is gone and he is a fugitive like we are."

          Aeryn snorted in disbelief.  "You are taking up for Scorpius?"

          "Will wonders never cease?" the scientist commented.

          Crais and Aeryn both looked at him.  "Shut up!" they commanded together.

          "After what he has done to all of us, you want to let him live?" she asked.  "He stripped you of your command, chased all of us across the Uncharted Territories, tortured you and John and you want to let him frelling live?" she screamed.

          Crais waited, keeping his temper in check.  What good would it do to kill Scorpius?  "Yes.  Let him suffer the way we have, Aeryn.  Let him live like a fugitive, marked for execution and hunted by the very establishment that trained us," he answered, his voice hard and cold.  "Everything he has worked for is gone, just like everything we worked for," he hissed vehemently.

          Aeryn stared at Crais in confusion, shaking her head.  "No.  I want him dead.  I want John free from him!  And I'll kill him myself if I have to if you don't have the nimvoks to do it!"  She tried to push past Crais, tried to free her pulse pistol from his hand, but the Captain held fast, gripping her upper arm with his free hand.

          "Aeryn, I will not…reduce myself to what I once was.  Not now, not ever again.  We will gain nothing from his death," Crais softly stated.

          Aeryn's jaw clenched and unclenched as she turned hard eyes to her former superior.  "I will.  I will gain the satisfaction of knowing he is rotting in the ground," she answered through clenched teeth.

          "Will you?" Crais posed, his eyebrows rising in question.  "Will any of us?"  Aeryn looked at Scorpius and then back to Crais, jerking her hand free and holstering her pulse pistol.  "We have both changed, Aeryn, for what it is worth.  And…you can tell that to Crichton when we find him."

          "When I find him."  She backed away from Crais, her eyes narrowed.  "You better hope that none of us live to regret this act of mercy, Crais."  She shook her head, casting one last look over her shoulder as she moved away from them, breaking into a run and disappearing from sight.  

"That makes two of us," he murmured to himself.  Jool started to go after her, but Crais' hand on her shoulder stopped her, his expression softening.  Her only thought had been to find Crichton, her only goal reuniting with the one person she cared for, the one person she could let down her guard with.  Part of Crais was intensely jealous of the love she had found, the other part not wanting anything to do with it.  "Let her go, Jool.  She is dealing with demons none of us can…imagine."

Jool cast a sideways glance at Scorpius.  "Maybe you can't imagine them Crais," she remarked, walking away, the priests following her.

Scorpius watched as they moved away, leaving only Crais and himself standing there.  "Thank you, Captain Crais," he commented, stepping up to the Sebacean Captain.  He was amused at the turn of events, finding himself suddenly at Crais' mercy.  "I seem to be…in your debt," he finally said, his lips twitching slightly at Crais' discomfort.

"Yes, ironic isn't it that I chose to keep Aeryn from killing you."  Crais looked at the scientist in disgust.  "You owe me nothing," he snarled, moving to stand mere denches from Scorpius.  "But know this.  If you so much as come within metras of Talyn and I, I will not hesitate to shoot you out of the sky."  The Captain turned on one foot, shrugged his uniform jacket back on and strode away without another word, leaving Scorpius alone, standing beside his former earthen prison.

Scorpius smiled to himself sinisterly.  "I have no doubt that you would," he whispered, only the trees around him hearing him.

          Crais watched silently as Aeryn's Prowler flew away.  She refused to speak to him or Talyn, infuriated with the fact that he had let Scorpius live.  They had both changed and maybe she was right.  Maybe he should have killed Scorpius.  It hurt him deeply that she did not share his feeling in his reasons for letting him live.  He tilted his head, hands behind his back, feet planted apart as he opened the communications channel.  "Aeryn, I know you can…hear me.  Please…understand that by allowing Scorpius to live, I am…forcing him to suffer what we have.  I know that is no comfort to you now, but it may be in the future."  He paused, hoping she would respond.  When she didn't, he continued.  "If we do not meet again, may you be…happy in whatever you do.  Good health to you, Officer Aeryn Sun."  Crais severed the communication, staring down at Talyn's steelskin deck.

          _~ She doesn't hate you, Crais.  She's just very confused, ~_ Talyn remarked, trying to soothe the pain his friend was feeling.

          "I know Talyn.  Although…we may never find out why."  He sighed.  "We need supplies.  Any…suggestions?"

          _~ No.  But I still would like to find my mother. ~_

          Crais smiled, proud at the newfound maturity the gunship was displaying.  "We will reunite with Moya.  We will."  He walked over to the system's console, laying one hand on it.  "Talyn…starburst."

          Aeryn furiously wiped the tears that slipped down her face at Crais' words.  He was right, it was no comfort to her knowing that Scorpius still lived.  Had she knowledge of the future, she would have been thankful for Crais' insistence in letting the scientist go.  She looked up at a bright flash of light and watched as the gunship she had named slipped into starburst, the first time since being repaired, leaving her in the quiet of space.  "Good health to you, Captain Bialar Crais," she whispered.

Stay tuned for Episode 2 of the Lost Eps of Season 4 entitled "Luck Of The Draw."


End file.
